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Ontario Tradespeople Put Candidates in the Hot Seat

Survey shows only PC Party candidates willing to axe the trades tax

TORONTO, July 30, 2013 /CNW/ -In response to a recent survey conducted by the Stop The Trades Tax
Campaign, three Ontario Liberal Party candidates declared that, if
elected, they would continue to support the controversial trades tax.
In contrast three Ontario PC Party candidates want to see it abolished.
Not a single NDP candidate responded despite repeated requests.

The trades tax took effect on April 8th and costs tradespeople between $60 and $120 per year. This is a 600 per cent increase in fees for some tradespeople like
electricians. The new trades tax will also make many consumer services
more expensive including a haircut, new wiring and plumbing.

"This is a critical ballot box issue for tradespeople and their
families. It's unfortunate that neither the Liberal nor the NDP
candidates are willing to stand up for tradespeople and abolish the
trades tax," said Frank Notte, Director of Government Relations for the
Trillium Automobile Dealers Association and a member of the Stop The
Trades Tax Campaign. "It's a needless hit to the pocket of hardworking
Ontarians, which is why we're asking candidates in the upcoming
by-elections to support axing this tax."

The questionnaire was sent to candidates from all three major parties in
all five by-election campaigns in the province. The survey posed three
questions on how candidates would support the skilled trades in
Ontario. Besides asking candidates how they would address the labour
shortage in skilled trades, the survey also tried to identify their
positions on the Ontario College of Trades, a new regulatory body set
up by the Ontario government.

"After reviewing the responses it became clear that only Ontario PC
Party candidates are willing to do the right thing and eliminate the
trades tax," said Notte. "On behalf of tradespeople and small
businesses across Ontario, I want to thank these Ontario PC candidates
for their support. I appreciate their strong commitment to abolishing
this unnecessary and costly bureaucracy."

The Stop The Trades Tax campaign was launched in 2011 to stop the
Ontario government from imposing a new, multi-million dollar trades tax
on tradespeople and employers. The campaign has grown to 32
organizations, whose members represent over 130,000 skilled
tradespeople and over 8,000 businesses across Ontario. The campaign has
also launched a petition to Stop The Trades Tax, to date it has 9,000
signatures.